Travelling by rail - Options galore
1. For match ticket holders only
€29.90 tickets
Special Euro 2024 point-to-point tickets are being offered by Deutsche Bahn for match ticket holders. They let you travel from anywhere in Germany to the match venue for €29.90 in second class or €39.90 in first class. The first-class tickets include a seat reservation.
Note: These tickets entitle you to travel ONLY on the train(s) that you specify at the time of booking. If, for instance, you miss the train, you cannot use the ticket on the next one. These tickets are also not refundable.
For every match ticket you possess, you can buy two train tickets (one to the host city and one away from it). Children aged up to 14 travel for free with an accompanying adult.
Note: The special Euro 2024 ticket prices may NOT be the cheapest fare available for any given trip. If a cheaper fare is available, the Deutsche Bahn website will show you this at the point of booking. If you buy a ticket at that cheaper fare, you will, of course, not need to show your Fan Pass during any ticket inspection.
On sale now. To buy, go here:.
Interrail Pass EURO 2024
This pass is also for match ticket holders only, i.e., you will need to show your EURO 2024 Fan Pass during any ticket inspection (as for point-to-point tickets above).
There are five versions of the Interrail Pass EURO 2024 (4, 5 or 7 days of travel within a one-month period between 9 June and 21 July, and 10 or 15 days of travel within a longer period between 9 June and 21 July). There are three age groups for pricing (12-27, 28-59 and 60+). They’re available both for first and second class.
You can use the pass for one journey outbound from your home country and one journey inbound into it. So, for instance, you could travel from the UK to Germany at the start of your trip, and back to the UK at the end of it. Note: if you do that, you have to reserve a seat on Eurostar, which will cost (last time I looked) £57 return.
On sale now here.
Required: A EURO 2024 Fan Pass
If you buy either of the above, you will need to be able to present your EURO 2024 Fan Pass along with the train ticket or pass to the ticket inspector on the train (just like showing any other form of discount entitlement along with a train ticket).
If you get a match ticket, you will be given access by UEFA to your EURO 2024 Fan Pass. You do not need to already be in possession of this when buying your special Euro 2024 train tickets or pass. You just need to have it by the time you travel.
Note: even if your match ticket has not been sent to your mobile phone by the time you travel, the EURO 2024 Fan Pass will still show the conductor that you do have one.
Free travel with match tickets
By definition, also for match ticket holders only. The free travel that they provide is on local and regional services, NOT on long-distance / express trains. They cover, for instance, all bus, tram, metro and underground travel in the host city and local train services throughout the surrounding transport network area (more on that on my Transport networks page).
Match tickets are valid for travel on these services from 6am on matchday until 6pm the next day. They will be good for getting around each host city and for travel to and from any hotel you might be staying at in a town elsewhere within the local transport network area. But they’re not a substitute for ‘proper’ tickets for any longer journeys.
Travel on the buses, trams, overground and underground trains covered by match tickets cannot be booked in advance. You just turn up and get on.
Note: for the Euros, the VRS and VRR transport networks are being treated as one. Between them they cover Cologne, Düsseldorf, Gelsenkirchen and Dortmund. So, a ticket for a match at any of those venues will be valid for the relevant 36 hours throughout the VRS and VRR regions. That means, for instance, that a town like Wuppertal (in the VRR region, but just outside the VRS one), could be used as a base for games in any of those cities.
2. For everyone – with or without match tickets
Deutschlandticket
The 'Deutschlandticket' was introduced as a measure to help combat the cost-of-living crisis. It offers unlimited monthly travel throughout Germany on all forms of local and regional transport. It's sold by Deutsche Bahn and costs just €49 a month!
It's a subscription sold by calendar month, but is cancellable at any time. For this to be effective from the end of any given month, you must do the cancellation by the 10th of that month. So, if you're just going to Germany for the group stage, you could subscribe for it on, say, the 1st of June and then cancel it on the 2nd for effect as of the 30th.
The only mode of transport excluded is intercity express trains (ICE, IC/EC). Otherwise, you can use it for all local transport within the host cities and, if you don't mind the more leisurely pace of regional train connections, for travel between venues too. From Cologne to Dortmund, for instance, it adds about 20 minutes to the journey time, while for the longer trip from Berlin to Dortmund it adds around 3 hours.
Super Sparpreis tickets (Super Savers)
A limited number of tickets per long-distance train (ICE, IC or EC) are sold as super saver tickets. Prices start from €17.90. On shorter routes they are available from €9.90 (if booked during a current Deutsche Bahn promotion which ends at the end of March). They are train-specific and non-cancellable. They go on sale 180 days in advance. For sale release dates see my Train ticket release dates page. Holders of a BahnCard 25 or BahnCard 50 (German Rail discount cards) get 25% off (see more on the Bahncard below).
Group Super Sparpreis tickets
If you are travelling in a group of 6 or more, the group super saver tickets work out even cheaper and include seat reservations (which otherwise cost €4.90 per person in second class). Group Super Saver prices start from €8.90 per person in second class. As for the individual super saver tickets mentioned above, they are train-specific, non-cancellable and go on sale on the Deutsche Bahn website 180 days in advance. For sale release dates see my Train ticket release dates page. There is no further discount for BahnCard holders.
Trial BahnCard 25 (German Rail discount card)
You can buy a Trial BahnCard 25 for €19.90. It gives you 25% off the majority of mainline rail travel. It’s valid for 3 months from the first day of validity. It can be cancelled subject to giving 6 weeks’ notice. So, if the sums add up for you, you could buy one on the Deutsche Bahn website in, say, May and cancel it with effect of the end of July.
Quick links to train times and fares
You'll find links to train times and fares between all host cities on my Train times page.
Interrail
If you are considering using rail travel for your journeys from your home country to Germany and back again, then (providing that country is in Europe) an Interrail pass might be a good bet for you.
The Interrail website has all the details. There are three age groups: 12-27, 28-60 and 60+. You can get, amongst other options, passes for 4 days travel within a month, 7 days within a month, 15 days within two months, or for one month straight.
In addition to mainline trains, you can also use an Interrail pass in Germany on the S-Bahn, suburban local trains.
Here's just one example of just how good a deal an Interrail pass could be for many fans.
I based it on the 4-day pass for an England fan aged under 28 going to the venues of the three group games..
Look at any airline website and you'll see that just the return fare could cost you a lot more. And that's before you consider getting to the airport, parking there, perhaps booking a hotel room for the night before your flight if it's a very early morning departure, and, of course, before all your travel to the games once you're in Germany.
So, an Interrail pass certainly looks a good deal (even without the 25% discount for match ticket holders). By not flying you'd also, of course, be doing your bit for the environment!
Seat reservations
Where not included in the ticket price, seat reservations can be added when you buy your train ticket. They can also be made separately and, unlike most tickets, 181 days rather than 180 days in advance. A seat reservation in second class costs €4.90. Bookable on the Deutsche Bahn website.
3. Flixtrain
Deutsche Bahn is not the only option for rail travel in Germany. Flixtrain (Flixbus website shows you coach and train options) is a low-cost rival that operates on some key routes across the country and offers some incredibly low fares (from, for example, €6.99 for the 4-hour journey from Hamburg to Cologne).
As you can see from the network map below, all Euro 2024 venues except Munich are covered by their rail network. For Munich, and for links to other venues from parts of Germany not covered by that network, Flix offer their long-distance Flixbus coaches.
To give you an idea of how the Flixtrain fares and journey times compare to Deutsche Bahn times and Super Saver fares, I had a look (on 19 December) at the four journeys shown below.
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Disclaimer
The information on this site has been put together with great care. However, I'm only human and humans sometimes make mistakes. Please therefore double-check for yourself anything that you are relying on. And please e-mail me at the address shown on the Legal page if you spot any errors or omissions. All prices shown above were as found online in December 2023.
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